Survey shows long-term care services are increasingly expensive

Metlife Mature Market Institute has published a report of the outcomes of its annual long-term care services costs survey, which includes home care, adult day programs, assisted living facilities, and nursing homes. The survey showed that the cost of long-term care services is continuing to climb, and that this year it rose more quickly than the rate of inflation. The only exception to this rule was the cost of home care services, which was the same from last year to this year. The average cost of care in a private…

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Long-Term health care plan axed by the Department of Health and Human Services

Last week, the Obama administration announced that it will be cancelling the long-term care insurance program that would have been created from the Affordable Care Act. The program, known as Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS), would have brought aid to those suffering from chronic illness and disability, was determined to be a detriment to the overall economic health of the nation, leading Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, to discontinue the program. Opponents of the Affordable Care Act claim this as a major…

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Department of Health and Human Services casts a wary eye at CLASS

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is currently reviewing a new report concerning the longevity of the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) program. The long-term care program has generated controversy lately after the resignation of the program’s administrator and staff. As of now, the program will not receive any federal money in 2012. CLASS is designed to provide insurance coverage for those needing long-term care. The future of the program is currently in jeopardy but the HHS is not inclined to solve any of its problems…

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Government Study Examines Long-Term Care Insurance Rate Increases – Only 1.6% Drop Coverage; 23% Actually Pay Less

PRESS RELEASE: A report released on August 16th by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examines the impact of rate increases on long-term care insurance policyholders. Specifically, the report examines the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP), the largest private long-term care insurance program in the nation. “As a voluntary plan consisting of typical employees, this is a most representative group,” states Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (www.aaltci.org), one of those interviewed by GAO staff preparing the study. “Instead of hyperbole, we now…

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U.S. federal research looks into increases in premiums for long-term care

The results of a federal government study have been released in a report that examined the impact of increasing premiums for insurance policies covering long-term care. The report was created by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and looked into the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP), which is the country’s biggest private insurance program for long-term care. Executive director Jesse Slome, of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance explained that since the FLTCIP is a voluntary plan with regular employees, the group is representative of long-term care insurance…

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